Blackpool v Man City Preview

Last updated : 15 October 2010 By BBC Sport

The international break has allowed several Manchester City stars to recover from injury.

Only long-term absentees Aleksandar Kolarov, Mario Balotelli and Alex Nimely remain unavailable to manager Roberto Mancini.

Blackpool

Injured: Almond (shoulder), Baptiste, Clarke & Rachubka (all knee)

Manchester City

Injured: Balotelli (knee), Kolarov & Nimely (both ankle)

MATCH PREVIEW

Moneybags Manchester City meet a club keeping a tight grip on the purse strings in a game many will look to for evidence (or otherwise) of City's Premier League title credentials.

Manchester City are spending all these millions and then they're coming to Bloomfield Road, you can't beat it... It's great to test yourself against the best in the world and hopefully we'll put on a good show and beat them

Blackpool defender Stephen Crainey

Both sides have come a long way since their last encounter 11 years ago, when Blackpool held City to a 0-0 draw at Bloomfield Road in what is now called League One. While the Seasiders' rise has been achieved on a shoestring budget, City boast the most expensively assembled squad in world football, and their bid to become a Premier League force is gathering momentum.

Roberto Mancini's side are finally starting to gel, with the Italian coach settling on a 4-5-1 formation with the in-form Carlos Tevez as a lone front man, supported by two wingers either side of a compact three-man midfield. They head to Blackpool off the back of three successive victories, but Mancini's admission that he and captain Tevez exchanged angry words during half-time against Newcastle only adds to the suspicion that tension is never far below the surface at City.

Blackpool host their north-west neighbours looking for their first home point of the season. The Seasiders have made an impressive start to life in the Premier League following their promotion from the Championship in May, taking 10 points from their opening seven games and causing a major upset in their last outing by defeating Liverpool at Anfield.

Absent from the touchline, however, will be manager Ian Holloway, who has been hit with a one-match ban for his language and behaviour towards referee Mike Dean following the home defeat by Blackburn last month.

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head

• Blackpool's last victory over Manchester City came in round one of the 1997/98 League Cup.

• Their last league encounter was a 0-0 draw in January 1999 in the third tier.

Have your say on this match

Blackpool

• Blackpool have the most porous defence in the league (15).

• Five of Charlie Adam's last six goals for Blackpool have come from the penalty spot.

• Blackpool and City are the only teams in the top flight yet to score a headed goal.

Manchester City

• Striker Carlos Tevez has scored 26 goals in his last 30 Premier League outings. His five goals this season count for over half of City's nine league goals.

• City have two points fewer after seven games this season than they had in 2009/10 under Mark Hughes.

• Only Newcastle (80%) have won a higher percentage of their tackles than Manchester City (78%).

LEADING GOALSCORERS

Blackpool

Adam: 3 goals (2 league); Harewood & Varney: 2 goals (2 league)

Manchester City

Tevez: 5 goals (5 league); Jo: 2 goals (0 league); Johnson: 2 goals (1 league)

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Phil Dowd

Assistant referees: Billy Smallwood & Glenn Turner

Fourth official: Kevin Friend

LAST LEAGUE MATCH LINE-UPS

Blackpool (W2-1 v Liverpool, a): Gilks, Eardley (Phillips 46), Evatt, Cathcart (Keinan 20), Crainey, Vaughan, Adam, Campbell, Grandin (Southern 63), Varney, Taylor-Fletcher. Subs Not Used: Halstead, Harewood, Ormerod, Sylvestre.

Manchester City (W2-1 v Man City, h): Hart, Boateng, Toure, Kompany, Lescott, De Jong, Barry (Adam Johnson 72), Silva, Yaya Toure (Adebayor 56), Milner, Tevez (Vieira 86). Subs Not Used: Given, Santa Cruz, Jo, Boyata.

Source: BBC Sport

Source: BBC Sport